1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to support systems for plants, more particularly to an inflatable plant support structure.
2. Prior Art
Potted plants are typically grown in environmentally controlled greenhouses. The air temperature and humidity are controlled throughout the entire volume of the greenhouse. Water is delivered to each of the plants in a system of water delivery pipes and sprinkler heads.
Such greenhouses may be up to 1,000 feet wide and 120 feet long with the width of the greenhouse divided up into individual bays of ten to twenty feet in width. Roadways extending the full width of the greenhouse on either end of the greenhouse and/or through the middle of the greenhouse provide access to the bays for transporting plants to and from the bays. Once the plants have been transported to the end of the bays, a worker must remove each potted plant from a truck or dolly or the like and carry the plant down the bay and place it on the floor or a table. Such procedures are very time consuming and labor intensive as workers walk back and forth carrying potted plants from a truck to the floor of the bay. When the plants have grown sufficiently, workers must again pick up each of the individual plants, remove them from the bay and reload them onto a truck for delivery elsewhere.
One solution to this problem has been the use of a conveyor for transporting the plants from the truck to the bay, but such conveyors are cumbersome and expensive to maintain. Another solution has been the use of a Dutch tray and a railway. The Dutch tray typically is a 4 foot by 9 foot table having casters mounted on its underside which allow the tray to be moved down the bay along the railway. This requires that the roadway also have rails and results in a very expensive installation, typically $10 per square foot. Considering that the cost of operating a greenhouse is about $10 per square foot itself, the use of a Dutch tray doubles the cost of operation of a greenhouse and therefore is prohibitively expensive.
Thus, a need remains for a plant support and transport system which reduces the labor required for placing potted plants within bays of a greenhouse.
This need is met by the inflatable plant support structure of the present invention which includes an elongated inflatable housing, preferably formed in a roll made from polyethylene. The housing defines a chamber and includes a plant receiving surface outside of the chamber. A plurality of recesses are defined in the plant receiving surface and are each adapted to receive a potted plant. A first end of the inflatable housing defines one or more first inlets, a second inlet and an outlet. The first inlets are connected to a manifold having a plurality of pipes, each pipe being connected to one of the first inlets. The manifold is adapted to be in fluid communication with a first fluid source, preferably pressurized air, so that the chamber may be filled with the first fluid.
A plurality of channels are defined in the plant receiving surface and include a main channel and a plurality of branch channels in fluid communication with the main channel and the recesses. A duct is disposed within the chamber and is in fluid communication with the second inlet and the outlet. The second inlet is adapted to be in fluid communication with a second fluid supply and the outlet communicates with the atmosphere. Heat from the second fluid in the duct transfers to the first fluid in the chamber. A plurality of apertures are defined in the plant receiving surface to allow the heated first fluid to escape therethrough.
A first cable is attached to the first end and is adapted to be wound upon a first cable reel. A second cable is attached to the second end and is adapted to be wound onto a second reel. When the first cable is wound upon the first cable reel, the roll and the second cable unwind from the second reel and the roll is unwound to expose the plant receiving surface.
The present invention further includes a plant support system including the plant support structure and a body which extends over the housing and compresses the plant receiving surface and the base together so that only the portion of the housing between the body and the first end is inflated when the first fluid enters the housing through the first inlets. The system further includes a support member which elevates the inflated portion adjacent the body. The support member includes an inclined surface over which the inflated portion moves when the roll is unwound and the first cable is wound onto the first cable reel.